National Nursing Workforce Center Act of 2025
- Bill Number
- S. 1482
- Origin Chamber
- Senate
- Congress
- 119th Congress, Session 1
- Policy Area
- Health
- Status
- Introduced
- Latest Action
- 2026-03-19: Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions. Hearings held.
- Last Updated
- 2026-04-22T11:03:20Z
AI-Generated Summary
Purpose
The National Nursing Workforce Center Act of 2025 aims to strengthen the nursing profession in the United States by supporting and stabilizing the current nursing workforce, creating new programs to expand the number of nurses, and addressing shortages through data-driven strategies. It focuses on improving data collection, research, planning, and partnerships at the state and regional levels to enhance recruitment, retention, and education in nursing.
Key Provisions
- Pilot Program for State and Regional Nursing Workforce Centers (Section 2):
- Establishes a 2-year pilot program under the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to create or enhance state-based nursing workforce centers.
- Implementation must begin within 1 year of enactment.
- Grants are awarded for 2 years, with a matching requirement: recipients must provide $1 in non-federal funds (cash or in-kind) for every $4 in federal funds.
- Funding: Up to $1.5 million from Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) appropriations for fiscal years 2026 and 2027.
- Eligible recipients include state agencies, state boards of nursing, tax-exempt nonprofits, community-based organizations, schools of nursing, or other entities approved by the Secretary.
- Grants must be equitably distributed across U.S. geographical regions.
- Priority for applicants offering statewide services, with expertise in nursing issues, history of collaboration, and partnerships with nursing educators and employers.
- Allowed uses of funds:
- Analyze state nursing data, education programs (e.g., faculty capacity, enrollment, clinical placements), financial aid, and factors affecting retention and recruitment.
- Conduct strategic planning with employers and educators.
- Research nursing shortages, including impacts of contract nursing.
- Implement programs for faculty retention, nurse recruitment across settings, leadership development, addressing health inequities, pandemic preparedness, and career counseling/mentoring.
- Annual reports to Congress starting 1 year after the first grant, covering initiatives, impact data (e.g., demographics of served nurses), public-private partnerships, evaluations, and recommendations for reducing shortages in specialties, rural/underserved areas, and improving workforce distribution.
- Expansion of State and Regional Centers for Health Workforce Analysis (Section 3):
- Amends existing law to broaden the scope of health workforce analysis programs to cover the entire Public Health Service Act (not just Title VII).
- Requires at least one grant or contract to an entity focused on nursing workforce advancement, with expertise in data, analysis, and emerging trends.
- Analysis and reporting activities include collaborating on reports, publications, and policy briefs about nurse supply, demand, and education capacity; evaluating workforce centers; developing strategies to address shortages; and conducting rapid research.
- Technical assistance includes helping centers with data collection/reporting, sharing evidence-based strategies, providing training, and maintaining a public website with resources (e.g., tools, webinars).
- Defines "nursing workforce center" as those funded under the new pilot program.
Significant Changes to Existing Law
- Inserts a new Part G (Nursing Workforce Centers) into Title VII of the Public Health Service Act (PHSA), redesignating the prior Part G as Part H.
- Expands Section 761 of the PHSA to include nursing-specific mandates in health workforce analysis, such as minimum funding for nursing-focused entities, detailed analysis/reporting requirements, and technical assistance provisions.
- Introduces a pilot program with dedicated funding and matching requirements, which did not previously exist for state nursing workforce centers.
- Shifts emphasis from general health workforce to targeted nursing support, including public-private partnerships and standardized data collection.
Potential Impacts
- On Government Agencies: The HHS Secretary and HRSA will oversee implementation, grant distribution, technical assistance, and reporting to Congress, potentially increasing administrative workload but using existing appropriations without new mandatory spending. This could lead to better-coordinated federal-state efforts in workforce planning.
- On Citizens: Improves access to nursing care by addressing shortages, especially in rural, underserved, and specialty areas, through enhanced recruitment, retention, and training. Aspiring and current nurses may benefit from better data, financial aid analysis, mentoring, and programs tackling burnout or inequities, potentially leading to more stable healthcare services nationwide.
- On International Relations: No direct impacts, as the bill focuses on domestic U.S. nursing workforce development.
Main Stakeholders Affected
- Nurses and Nursing Students: Direct beneficiaries through retention programs, career advancement, leadership training, and addressing shortages.
- Nursing Educators and Schools: Supported via faculty retention, enrollment analysis, and clinical placement improvements.
- State Agencies and Boards: Eligible for grants to lead statewide data and planning efforts.
- Healthcare Employers: Involved in strategic planning and research on shortages, including contract nursing impacts.
- Nonprofits and Community Organizations: Can receive funding to support recruitment, equity initiatives, and public health preparedness.
- Federal Government (HHS/HRSA): Responsible for program administration, funding, and reporting.
- Underserved Populations: Indirectly benefit from efforts to reduce health inequities and improve nurse distribution in rural or low-access areas.
Notable Legal, Constitutional, or Political Implications
- Legal: Amends the PHSA (42 U.S.C. 292 et seq.) to integrate nursing-specific provisions, creating enforceable requirements for data standardization, equitable grant distribution, and annual congressional reporting. The pilot nature allows for evaluation before permanent expansion, with flexibility for the Secretary to define eligible entities.
- Constitutional: Aligns with Congress's authority under the Commerce Clause to regulate healthcare workforce issues affecting interstate commerce; no apparent conflicts with federalism, as it emphasizes state-level implementation with federal support and matching funds.
- Political: Bipartisan sponsorship (Democrats and Republicans) highlights consensus on post-pandemic nursing shortages. The focus on public-private partnerships and evidence-based strategies could foster broader collaboration, but funding limitations ($1.5M/year) may limit scope without future appropriations, potentially sparking debates on scaling up for larger impacts.
This summary was generated by AI and may contain inaccuracies. Refer to the official source document for the authoritative text.
Sponsor
Sen. Blunt Rochester, Lisa [D-DE]
Cosponsors (4)
Sen. Tillis, Thomas [R-NC], Sen. Merkley, Jeff [D-OR], Sen. Cramer, Kevin [R-ND], Sen. Coons, Christopher A. [D-DE]
Recent Actions
- 2026-03-19: Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions. Hearings held.
- 2025-04-10: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
- 2025-04-10: Introduced in Senate
Bill Versions
- National Nursing Workforce Center Act of 2025 — issued 2025-04-10 — PDF (11 pages)